Ornamental shoe and method of ornamenting same



Feb. 15, 1927. ,617,430

c. WOLFELT ORNAMENTAL SHOE AND METHOD OF ORNAMENTING SAME Filed June 14. 1925 -BYI I115 ATTONEY Patented Feb. 15, 1927.

; UNITED STATES PATENT omcr.

omvr woLmL'r, or NEW YORK, n. v;

, l I 1 ORNAMENTAL SHOE AND METHOD OF ORNAMENTING Sm.

Application filed June 14,1928. S er1a1 No.115,71,8..- o

produce ornamental sheet material, particu-- larly of the flexible non-woven type, such as leather. The invention has for its object the treatment of such material in accordance with an extremely simple and "lIlGXPBIlSlVB method to produce the desiredfeflect.

More particularly,- the invention contemplates the production of ornamental articles of footwear, particularly of the type worn by women, the ornamentation being of a character which is not only inexpensivefrom the standpoint of its production, but which produces effects which are both unique and highly attractive.

In the production of ornamentation of the type herein referred to, and particularly in the production of ornamentation for shoes, one of the important factors to be considered is that of color, the proper combinations'of color being highly desirable because of the wide variety of ornamentation which is made possible by the use of this factor alone. It is an object of the present inven tion to provide an ornamentation wherein the element of color and color combinations may be made to play an important part with comparative simplicity. More particularly,

it is an object of the invention to provide ornamentation of a character which may permit the proper co-relation of at least three colors or other contrasting appearances with a minimum of manufacturing expense.

V It is another object of the invention to provide an ornamentation which presents a peculiarly attractive appearance entirely regardless of color cons1 rations, and which 1 acter referred to.

is peculiarly adaptable to a wide variety of modifications.

Go-ordinately, my invention relates to a method of treating leather, and partlcularly to a method of treating'a shoe, or portions thereof, in order to produce ornamentations of the char- My invention also contemplates the production of ornaments by means of this'm'ethod which may be independently produced and subsequently afiixed sheet material, such as them in a predetermined manner out of the normal surface contour of-the sheet. More particularly, these portions are artistically configured and arranged with respect to each form parts, and "thereupon individually manipulating these portions so as to deflect other in accordance with predetermined de- .3

sign, and they are thereafter manipulated in accordance-with the design contemplated to produce a. composite effect of the character desired.

Another feature of the invention. lies-inprovidingthe material in which these portions. are produced with opposite surfaces of contrasting appearance, and manipulating the portions in a manner which'will display.

both surfaces in accordance with predetermined design so as to produce an enhanced efiect.

A stilld in provi ing t e portions with an underlay which may em iody a still further contrasting appearance, and manipulating the portions so as to render portions of the underlay visible and" thereby permit a still further contrasting effect toincrease the attractiveness of the ultimate ornamentation.

In a preferred method of carrying out the invention, the portions which are individufurther feature of the invention lies ally adjustable are arranged and constructed to provide a series of adjacent parallel elongatedzstrips which are twisted upon themselves. Moreover, these strips are preferably twisted through substantially 180,

thereby causing the under-surfaces of thestrips to form a composite outer display surface lying substantially along the mitial surface contour of the material. In general, it is an object of the invention to provide an ornamental portion for sheet.

accordance witha method which is not only inexpensive from the standpoint of labor,-

'material, and particularly for a shoe, in.v

appearance which reflects careful workman ship and artistic abilit and which is capa ble of'a'n almost unlimited variety of modifications, both as to contour, position, corn posite effect, and color combinations.

l I Forthe attainment of the foregoing objects and such other objects as may hereinafterappear or .be pointed out,'I have illus- 'trated'one embodiment of my invention in.

the accompanying drawings in which the I "invention is shown as being embodied in an the character herein referred to. In the drawings, Y

illustrative manner upon a ladys shoe of Fig. 1 is a plan view-of an illustrative ornamental portion of the shoe'with parts broken away for the sake of elearness;

, along the line 33 of Fig. 1; i

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a fragment .of Fig.1,showing. details of construction;

' ta en' Fig. 3 1s a cross-sectional view Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and

, Fi 5 is a perspective'view of a complete shoe ornamented in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, it will be observed that. I have shown ashoe in Fig. 5

wherein the tip has been provided with an ornamentation produced in accordance with the resent invention, and wherein the rear portion of the shoe has been similarly or-- namented. In Fig. 1, I have shown the tip, ornamentation upon a relatively enlarged scale, and it will be observed that in the illustratedform I have utilized the outer layer of the shoe. upper as the sheet of flexible material which constitutes the basis of the ornamentation. This sheet is denoted by the reference numeral 10, and I have illustrated this sheet as being superposed upon an underlay 11 which may be retained in placeeither by lines of stitching 12, by adhesive means, or 'by direct marginal at'- tachment tothe sole'13 of the shoe.

The ornamentation illustrated is produced by making a'series-of substantially parallel J cuts throu h the material '10, these cuts thereby ,de ing and providing a series of adjacent portions .14 between the'cuts and capable of being individually manipulated with respect-to each other and to thebalance I I of the material 10. By virtue of the par.-

allelism of the cuts, the separated portions 14-may be made to assume the form of elongated stri s, and I have shown these strips 'individua y tw'istedupon themselves within the areas initially: defined by them... I have shown these strips as having their mid-portions'twisted through 180, these mid-portions 15 being retained in such reversed positions by a strap 16, although the employment of a strap for. this purpose is more or less optional. The mid-portions 15 constitute a composite ornamental surface which lies substantially in the plane or. surface contour I "of the initial unmanipulated sheet 10.

It will be observed that by twisting the individual strips, openings 17 are provided through the sheet 10. These openings are highly attractive. derlay'11 is a'feature of my invention. but

"Saba-many rhoinbic and may, if desired, 1

be utilized for ventilating purposes where the invention is embodied in a shoe, or they" may, for example, constitute passages .for light rays where the invention is employed upon some such article as a'lamp-shade. I have found it more satisfactory to make useof the provision of these openings for the purpose of rendering visible portions of the underlay 11, and with this object in View the surface of, the underlay 11 is made either 1 of a different color from the upper surface of the sheet 10, or it is in any other manner made to embody a contrasting appearance.

The provision of the portions 14, whether they be elongated or shaped and positioned in other ways, and the subsequent manipulation of these portions in accordance with the present method, producesby-itself an or namental effect which isboth unique and The provision of an un- Although nevertheless I find it preferable to line the material 10 with a separate layer ofmaterial of decidedly different appearance ofcolor;

Thus, in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, I have shown the material 10 provided with a lining 18 which is adhesively associated therewith, although this means of association is a matter of choice. Where a lining 18 is employed, it is preferably of a character which presents a third contrasting appearance in comparison .to the appearances of the sheet 10 and the underlay 11. For example, the material 9 10 may be gray in color, the lining 18 may be pink, and the underlay may be deep red. I have foundit particularly suitable to em- .plo v as the underlay a material which has a lustrous surface such as that presented by celluloid, thereby rendering still further effects possible by permitting whatever ligl1t may enter the openings 17 to b reflected 1:0

from the colored underlay, .or, in certain cases, permitting lightrays to pass through the underlay. It will be obvious that in its .broadest aspect, my invention is applicable to sheet material in general. and I have illustrated andv described my invention as embodied in 'a shoe for the reasonthat it embodies features which render such an application particularly favorable. In the first place, tlfie incidental production of openings,

such as the openings 17, renders ventilating effects possible, although-these effects are in 1 'cidental to the primary purposes ofthe ornamentation. In the second place, an orna-. mentation is produced without the addition or application to the slide'of extra layers or elements In this way, .the final weight of the shoe is retained at a minimum, and the extra expense of separately attaching ornamental portions is obviated." It will be observed, however, that in certain cases it may be desirable to embody my invention in Separately applicable ornamented portions. In the third place, the provision of a color effect involving at least threecolci s is made possible by an extremely simple means, entailing no separate addition or inlaying of varicolored elements or portions. In the fourth place,the present invention permits me to utilize the inherent contrasting a pearances V of the -opposite surfaces of the S108 upper for purposes of ornamentation. The leather which is used for shoes of this character-is of an extremely .high qua ity, and its underside, heretofore entirely'invisible. has been utilized as a factor of ornamentation. In the fifth place, the upper of a shoe pre71ents a substantially rigid contour whereon the ornamentation may be rendered extremely effec-' tive because of this fact. Moreover. Where the twisted strips are retained in twisted po sitions by means other than adhesion. a shoe presents numerous elements, such as the strap 16 or the rim 20, whose presence -may be utilized for this purpose. v a

It will now be obvious that still further contrasts of appearance may be taken advantage'of by virtue of the possible contrastr ing appearances of the retaining elements,

such as the strap 16 or the rim 20.. More-' over, it will be obvious that the edges of the strips themselves may betakenadvantage' ofin a proper manner, from the standpoint hats, hand-bags, or similar articles, wherein" sheet m'a'terial of the leather or felt type isa salient element of construction. It may conceivably be em loyed in-connection with woven fabrics,:. alt ough its employment for this purpose might be beset with difiiculties due to the r-aveling of the material. Furthermbre, .it will be obvious that a wide variety of modifications may be employed. For example, the contour of the [strips may be altered, the relative disposition of the strips may be changed, and the strips themselves may be twisted either as shown in the otherwise. In the embodiment illustrated,.

accompanying drawings .or in alternately I opposite directions, or. through 360, 'or

the opposite ends of the strips are rigidly attached to each other; it may be desirable in certain cases to extend the slits or cuts to theedge ofthe sheet material, thereby sev' ering the strips at oneend thereof. The

provision of retaining means such as the strap '16 is also more or less optional, the normal tension and contour of the tip of the shoe, where a shoe is thearticle ornamented,

being a possible means of retaining the strips in adjustedf positions without use of any further instrumentalities.

Thus, it will beseen that in the details herein described a d illustrated torthe purpose of explaining the nature of my invention may bemade by those skilled in the art Without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. It is therefore inm ,ny changes 30 tended'that these details be interpreted as illustrative and-not in a limiting sense.-

Having thus described my'invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1 1. In a shoe, an ornamental portion com-. prising a plurality of longitudinally twisted strips...-

2. In a shoe, an ornamental portion com prising a plurality of longitudinally-twisted strips, said strips being formed of an integral bl ank of sheet material bymaking a series of substantially parallel cuts therein.

3. In a shoe, an ornamental portion comprising a sheet of material having cuts therethrough positioned to provide portions between the cuts which are capable of being ipdividu'ally twisted, saidportions beingretained in twisted positions to render their u der-sides. visible. I

4. In a'shoe, an ornamental portion'comprising an integral sheet of flexible-material having a series of cuts theret hrongh posi-- .tioned to provide a. series of adjacent portions between the cuts which 'arecapable oi being individually twisted out of the plane of the material, said portionsjbeingtwisted to render their under-sides visible, and being 7 so'shaped and positioned relatively of each other that the twistingthereof will provide an ornamental composite portion constituted of said under sides';

' 5. In a shoe, an ornamental portion comprising a series of adjacent individually twisted portions of sheet material, and an underlay of contrasting material visible through the spaces provided by twisting said portions.

6. In a shoe, an ornamental portion comprising an integral sheet of material pro- 1 vided witha seriesof substantially parallel slits to provide individually twistable strips l between said slits, said strips being twisted, and a cont-rastingunderla'y visible-through the spaces produced by said twisting.

7. In a shoe, an ornamental portion com-- prising a-sheet of materialhaving contrasting opposite surfaces, said sheet being provided with individually and lndependently adjustable portions formed. integrally therewith, and said portions. being individually twisted to.render portions of the contrasting under-surface visible.

8. In: a'shoe, an ornamental portion comprising a lined piece of flexible material p0.- sitioned on the shoe in a manner which renders the lining normally invisible, said sheet being provided with cuts therethrough positioned to provide individually twistable-i portions between said cuts, and said twistable portions being twisted to render the lining on their undeiwsides visible. Y

9. In a shoe, an ornamental portion comprising a flexible sheet of material having contrasting opposite surfaces, an underlay for said sheet having a third contrasting. surface, said sheet being provided with mdependently adjustable integral portions,

j and said portions being individually adjusted to reveal both their under-sides and porj tions of the underlay.

10. The herein described method of ornamenting shoes which includes the steps of 'forming a series of substantially parallel slits'in the upper of the shoe, and twisting the portions betweensaid slits; 1

/ 11. The herein described method of orna menting shoes which comprises lining a portion-of the upper of the shoe with an underlay of contrasting material, forming a series of cuts in the upper, and individually twisting theportions of the upper which lie between said cuts, therebyjrendering portions 7 of the underlay visible. 4

menting shoes which includes the steps of permit the ig g 'te contrasting material providing an underlay of contrasting material under said lined por- I tion, forming a series of cuts through said lined portion, and individually twisting those portions which lie between said cuts,

thereby'rendering portions of both the lin-. 'ing and the underlay vls'ible. v 13. The method of ornamenting sheet material which comprises the steps of forming substantially parallel slits therein, and twisting the strips thereby produced.

14. Ornamental sheet material comprising a series of-adjacent separated strips integral with the sheet and formed by cutting the sheet along parallel lines, said strips being individually twisted within their own areas to display their under-sides.

15. Ornamental, sheet material provided i: I with aseries'ofparallel slits therethrodgh,

said slits defining a series of separated strlps of the sheet between them, and said strips being individually twisted'upon themselves in one direction and within, their own initial are displayed, and whereby openings are produced through the material adapted to through. 16. An ornamentation comprising superposed layers of sheet material,.the upper one thereofhaving spaced cuts therei-n'to provide portionsbetwee'n the cuts which are individually adjustable out of normal position,

said portions being individually twisted to a degree which renders portions? of their edges and under-sides visible, and said.

under-portion embodying an appearance which contrasts ;with both the upper and under-sides of said portlons whereby a composite ornamentation is produced permitting 85 desired combinations of :at least three con- In witness whereof, I

oURT woLFnLT.

a... signed; this y f June, 1926,.

areas, whereby the. under-sides of the strips passage of light rays there- 

